live from london, this is bbc news. -- live from the israel- gaza border, i'm mark lowen. this is bbc news. washington approves 30 million dollars of funding for a controversial us- and israeli-backed group set up to deliver aid in gaza. iran acknowledges that serious damage was done to its nuclear facilities during the us and israeli bombings. i am luxmy gopal in london with your other main story is hour. -- this hour. a massive climb-down - the prime minister caves in to labour rebels over changes to the benefits system. and a norfolk teenager becomes the first patient in europe to receive a potential cure for a rare immune disorder.

a very warm welcome from bbc news, i'm mark lowen. we are broadcasting a special close to the israeli - gaza border on the daily struggle for food and aid deliveries in gaza, with near daily reports of killings by israeli forces and other militias in gaza as people queue for aid. the us will give $30 million to the gaza humanitarian foundation, a us and israeli-backed body set up to distribute aid in gaza. it is a controversial foundation. it is set up to replace united nations aid agency on the ground, which israel has banned. it's the first known direct us funding for the group. the ghf, backed by armed us

contractors and israeli troops, has been operating in the strip since the end of may following an eleven-week aid blockade by israel. on tuesday, the un said more than 400 palestinians had been killed in recent weeks by the israeli military, while trying to collect food at the distribution sites. let me show you where we are. the gaza border is just up the road, we have been stopped by the side of the road because there is an israeli military checkpoint which we are not allowed to show you and we cannot go any further than this. we will be broadcasting throughout the day on bbc news from various sites along the crossing to bring into focus the gaza story which has been somewhat out of the media spotlight during their israel and iran war. joining me now is our gaza correspondent rushdi abualouf, who is in cairo. hi, give us the latest on the casualty figures over the last 24 hours. about 23 people were

killed since midnight, four of them near the gaza humanitarian foundation in rafah that we have just got some report about people who were killed there. three people were killed near another centre in central gaza near a settlement. in the last hour or so we had ten people killed in an air strike in gaza city. in total, like today and yesterday, 70 people altogether were killed, many of them near the gaza humanitarian foundation centres. give us a sense of what is happening with the power vacuum in certain areas of gaza, because there are different armed groups that are filling that vacuum and taking over in

areas which were previous hamas strongholds. if you could explain the picture as far as that is concerned. before the fighting macros started i was able to speak to a significant officer in gaza, a very high level of -- before the war started. it said gaza lost 80% of its capability to control gaza. another significant incident was yesterday when 20 or maybe 30 attack nasser hospital because they accuse the unit of killing one of their men and hiding in the hospital, we saw a big destruction in the emergency department and people burning cars. the hospital was under

their control for about two hours, the doctors were hiding, patients were hiding and we were the only functioning hospital in the south of gaza, the nasser hospital was stopped from about three or four others from receiving casualties to a very disastrous situation everywhere. we have a plan in every single neighbourhood, we have one in gaza city which is also part of the chaos in gaza stealing aid, in the north we had seen the same, there is a growing concern among the people that marko basa is not able to confront the people who are looting every day the humanitarian checks in gaza -- there is a growing concern among the people that... and

gaza is not able to confront the people. you have near daily killings of gazans trying to access aid and yet the narrative coming out of the israeli and american governments as they are trying to work towards a peace deal and a ceasefire in gaza within the next few weeks off the back of the israel - iran war. what is hamas saying about the latest mediation efforts and the chance of reaching a ceasefire. i spoke to 405 hamas officials including the one in charge of the investigation and he said we have not received any new offer by the mediators. they have said what is happening since the ceasefire between iran and israel announced that there is intensifying the effort by the two mediators. egypt era meeting with hamas officials

who are regularly visiting egypt. also we understand that was a high-level meeting between the qataris and hamas but what hamas is saying is it is all just intensifying discussion, no deal on the table, they said we are ready to cooperate with any deal in the war and allow more humanitarian aid into gaza. what is the main sticking point as ever, the demands from hamas for a ceasefire to lead to a permanent end to the war? but that is still resisted on the far right of the israeli cabinet. i think the main point for hamas is they want any ceasefire to lead to a long-term ceasefire. they want to end the war and for israel to withdraw its forces from

gaza. more than 45% of the land in gaza has been under israeli control, maybe more. the gaza strip is all the time receiving an evacuation order. hamas wants a guarantee from the mediators and the americans that israel would end the war after the temporary ceasefire. they are not rejecting the idea of having a 60 day ceasefire, the steve witkoff offer. they rejected the offer because they said there was not enough guarantee from the mediators that the war would end after 60 days of the ceasefire. this is the main issue of hamas, that israel withdraw from gaza and they end the war, confirmation that they would end the war. our gaza correspondent, rushdi abualouf, thank you very much indeed. even though according to opinion polls the vast majority of israelis want a ceasefire

with gaza and a return of the remaining 50 hostages still not home in israel, about 28 of them are thought to be dead. there is, of course, a range of opinions on this from israelis. on the way here we stopped eneko boots, kidded sperry, one of the kibbutzes overrun by hamas on october the 7th -- we stopped in a kibbutz, one of the kibbutzes overrun by hamas. it was pretty strident and vivid to see the impact of the 7th of october there. you could see the building is completely shut out by hamas as they stormed back than men and there is a range of opinions inside that fares from people close to gaza as to whether a ceasefire should be reached and aid should be allowed in. joining me now is joanne perry, who is

a medical adviser working with the medicins sans frontier charity in gaza. doctors without borders. thank you so much for talking to us. i know it has been difficult to establish a line with you. can you give us a sense of the scene on the ground as far as aid is concerned, where you are? thank you. i arrived last week into north gaza, my third time in. the situation is best described as catastrophic. there is widespread food insecurity, people are lining up in the markets, there is not much available, it is expensive, we know the aid systems are not successful at this point, so of course this is impacting the health of the population we are seeing every day in our hospitals. are you getting any aid today or yesterday? it's israeli government has put out a directive that should be a two day stoppage for aid deliveries

until they can secure the situation on the ground, accusing hamas of looting the aid? to my knowledge there will be no weight coming in to we have not seen or heard any trucks. i am sorry to interrupt, it is just a drop in the bucket of two days, there has been a 100 day siege of a lack of entry of essential food, medical supplies, fuel. you are in the north of gaza, the worst hit area and where the new age distribution points by this controversial gaza humanitarian foundation are in the south, not the north. so describe the most urgent needs on the grounds where you are. basically daily life it's a struggle for everyone living in north gaza. in the north north gaza, all the hospitals have

been closed and people have been displaced into the gaza city area, so there are huge hundreds of thousands of newly displaced people, putting a gun pressure on all the health care facilities. we are seeing rising rates of malnutrition -- putting, again, pressure on all the health care facilities. the health care facilities are overcrowded with trauma cases, there is stress on the blood supply, the blood donation clinics are struggling because the majority of the population is any net because of the lack of nutritious food. another important problem is potable water, we are in very hot months of the climate, people are hot, getting dehydrated, the water distribution system has been destroyed so we are seeing a lot of waterborne illnesses too. what do you make of the gaza humanitarian foundation, this us- israeli backed mechanism set to receive $30

million from the us state department and has replaced the un, the establish un aid mechanism that was working on the ground that israel accused of being in collaboration with hamas? how would you describe that mechanism and what are the issues with it? basically it is not humanitarian. humanitarian principles exist to enable the facilitation of aid to those in need with dignity. ghf is not fulfilling of those principles. people are walking along distances, their choice is starvation or possibly getting killed. people from the north, it is almost inaccessible to them because of the distance. joanne perry, with msf in northern gaza, very grateful for your time on bbc news and

for bearing with us as we established that lying to you, describing the dire situation on the grounds in northern gaza. our best to you, dozens of aid workers have been killed on the ground since october the 7th, it is an extremely dangerous situation for humanitarian workers on the ground full that is the situation in gaza. meanwhile, in terms of the ceasefire with iran, the us defence secretary has called the strikes on iran's nuclear facilities some of the most complex and secretive in us military history, and yet he gave a few new details about the impact on iran's nuclear facilities. -- and yet he gave few new details. the iranian foreign minister, abbas araghchi, has now acknowledged what he called "serious" damage from the strikes, saying an assessment was under way. but he disputed president trump's assertion that there'd be us-iranian talks next week, saying no such plan

had been set. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in the iranian capital tehran. she is being allowed to report from there on condition that none of her coverage is used on the bbc's persian service, which broadcasts to the people of iran. this law from the authorities applies to all international media agencies operating in iran. -- this law, from the iranian authorities. here is her report. iran's state tv, the studio where the supreme leader's speeches are aired. but not today. not after israel attacked it... explosion. ..forcing the newsreader to flee, her desk devoured by fire. today, a fiery message of his own from the ayatollah, said to have sheltered in a bunker during the war. translation: iran, with this iron national resolve, reject surrender.

for a country like this, the idea of surrender is laughable to anyone who truly knows the iranian nation. for now, a fragile ceasefire. tehran starts to look like itself. its infamous traffic... ..its beautiful bazaars, residents are slowly returning to a city they left to escape the bombs. but for some, it's still a battle just to breathe. in this ward, there are civilians, not soldiers. this man shows us his scars. he was working in the transport department when the entrance to the notorious evin prison was bombed. translation: israel lies, saying they are only hitting military and nuclear sites. they hit a prison. i was there, i was hurt, and i'm amazed countries like england, france, the us and the un don't condemn israel.

the abandoned american embassy, a monument to iran's troubled relationship with the west, accused of sponsoring terrorism, of trying to develop a nuclear bomb, charges tehran denies. but even inside this former embassy, a cafe serving iced americanos. amir tells me he wants to see a better relationship between america and iran. so many iranians do. but in this dark time, there's still not much light. the message in public was defiant, but this blackened studio symbolises this dark moment in iran. the most difficult and dangerous decisions confronting the supreme leader,

the most fateful choices in his nearly 40 years in power. a new, uncertain chapter in an old, long standing war. lyse doucet, bbc news, tehran. lyse joined us live from tehran a short while ago. she told us it's still unclear how much damage was done to iran's nuclear facilities. well, as we've been reporting on the news, there's been so many different assessments coming from different capitals. the united states continues to use the exact description, starting with president trump, who in the immediate aftermath of those unprecedented strikes on iran's three main facilities, talked about how they had... the american bombs had obliterated iran's nuclear programme. then you had the intelligence assessment saying it was more limited, that it had only been set back a few months. and then yesterday, the supreme leader of iran,

ayatollah khamenei, made his first speech since president trump announced a cease fire, accused the united states of exaggerating the extent of the damage. perhaps the clearest assessment came from the foreign minister of iran, abbas aragchi, who did say there had been serious damage. but the big question everyone is asking is just how far does that damage go? and the question the rest of the world is asking is how... in what way, and how soon, can iran resume the nuclear enrichment? lyse doucet in tehran. we will be broadcasting all through the day from the

you with bbc news. -- you are with bbc news. there's been a major u-turn by the uk government, which will make changes to its planned benefits reforms after a wave of pressure from labour mps. the climb-down is a blow to prime minister sir keir starmer's authority - as more than 120 mps from his own party publicly criticised the government's plans. our political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. sir keir starmer, saluted this week as he visited royal marines training in holland. but it's his own troops among his backbenchers he's struggled to control, and who forced him into the most significant retreat of his premiership, with this u-turn over key benefit cuts. more than 120 had said publicly they'd block his reforms to disability and sickness benefits. chanting: when they say cut back, we say... the original plan was to limit who receives some benefits and cut others to save £5 billion. now, liz kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has written to rebel mps, saying there'll be no change for those

currently receiving pips. no cuts for those currently receiving universal credit's health element. new claimants will face cuts. but support to help people back to work will be increased, and disability rights groups will be consulted on the reforms. miss kendall said, "we have listened to colleagues who support the principle of reform, but are worried about the impact of the pace of change." these are really important changes, and shows how labour supports the most vulnerable, and also this overall package is about helping people get into work, which is absolutely a core labour value. i'm going to be backing it now because i think it is a good step forward and these major changes are very welcome, and i'm really delighted that the government's been listening. in ellesmere port on the wirral peninsula the original plan had left many deeply worried. camille, who has epilepsy, gets pip payments, her husband employment support allowance. they're going on about getting rid of universal credit and cutting off pip. we're going to struggle even more.

and it's sad because that is scary for me, and as well as other families around ellesmere port. we're all going to struggle. jill is registered blind. she says people fear losing help, but change is needed. the welfare benefit system is very heavily used and spending huge amounts of money, which this country really can't afford. and also, there are a lot of people getting those benefits that perhaps shouldn't be, and it must be a terrible juggling act for people to try and stop all the cheats, to make sure that people with genuine need are getting the benefits that they are entitled to. the conservatives say the government's u-turn and failure to get welfare spending under control will come at a cost, likely higher taxes. the liberal democrats, that a grubby deal will still hurt disabled people. but the government says its aim is to reduce the anxieties of those worried about the changes and put the benefit system on a sustainable footing.

damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. our political correspondent in westminster, leila nathoo, gave us the latest from westminster. massive blow for keir starmer's authority. no doubt about that. this rebellion was a long time brewing. there were many representations privately and then more publicly, and i think there will be some reflection in number ten about how it came to this, this 11th hour compromise ahead of the vote on tuesday. in the event we got this deal last night, that the government hopes will be enough to persuade a lot of the more than 120 labour mps who had opposed the changes, and they say they are now confident that this bill will proceed as planned through parliament on tuesday, coming before the commons and mps for a vote on tuesday. that is what the critics had tried to derail. so they've offered these concessions, essentially protecting existing benefit claimants and bringing forward some money for employment support and then involving

disabled people in future reforms. those were some of the key asks, but there are already some labour mps who are saying, look, this isn't enough. we are still concerned enough not to support the bill. and i think that there is that short term imperative of just trying to get this legislation through. but then there are longer term implications, because this bill was designed to save £5 billion by 2030. if they have softened some of these measures, there is going to be money needed to be found from elsewhere by the treasury. so rachel reeves has to get those sums done now and then. there are wider, wider questions for number ten, both backwards looking in terms of how they got to this stage and what they could have done differently to avoid this coming to a head in this way, but also now they are facing a noisy, confident bunch of labour backbenchers who are seemingly organised enough to mount this kind of challenge to the prime minister. how do they go forward with potentially difficult, difficult policies in the future?

our political correspondent leila nathoo.

this is bbc news. the headlines... washington approves $30 million of funding for a controversial us and israeli-backed group set up to deliver aid in gaza. iran acknowledges that serious damage was done to its nuclear facilities during the us and israeli bombings. japan executes a man dubbed the twitter killer - the country's first death penalty case in three years. thousands of glastonbury festival-goers flock to worthy farm ahead of this weekend's festival.